


Into the Endless Night

by Yessica



Series: Whumptober 2020 Yessica Edition [23]
Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Disabled Character, Drabble Collection, Light Angst, Major Character Injury, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, but all set in the same universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:21:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27197074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yessica/pseuds/Yessica
Summary: They return up the mountain. Mike and Chris get into some trouble. Then the others do too.Chapter 1: Whumptober day 25 - Blurred vision & ringing earsChapter 2: Febuwhump day 15 - "Run. Don't look back."Chapter 3: Febuwhump day 16 - Broken bones
Series: Whumptober 2020 Yessica Edition [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949233
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	1. Chris & Mike

**Author's Note:**

> These scenes are based on a longfic idea I never used, but it was fun to write as practice anyway!

The explosion made the entire mine rumble, raining loose rocks and dust on them from up above. They heard the noise it made seconds before the impact reached them, an incredible force that threw Chris away like a rag doll. Lurching, his back connected to the stone wall with a sickening crunch, making him fall onto his stomach which only sent another jolt of pain through his body.

Underneath his fingertips he could feel the entire mountain shake, vibrating in quick stutters. His glasses had been knocked off by the blast and he scrambled around on the ground to find them, to be able to assess the damage, but they must have flown off somewhere he couldn't reach. His cane was at his side, the cold white plastic had a crack running along it from the handle to halfway down the length but it helped get Chris on his feet.

Then he spotted Mike not too far away on his side, unmoving.

"Fuck!" Chris sprinted over on unsteady legs, using the cane to ease his limp. Falling onto his knees beside Mike, he grasped him by the shoulders and tried to turn him onto his back. Blood was staining his shoulder blade in one big patch, his face covered in grime. He had been much closer to the detonation than Chris had been.

A screech of the undeterred wendigo only drove how miserable their situation was home, their plan not having accomplished anything. Shaking Mike's shoulders lightly, Chris tried getting his breathing under control before he went into full-on hysterics. "Mike, come on buddy! Naptime is over."

As if in answer to his unspoken prayers, Mike's lids fluttered a few times before they suddenly sprung open. His pupils were wide and unfocused, hand coming up to grasp Chris around the bicep. "Wha-"

"I think you might have overshot that one a little," Chris joked. He didn't know why he always resorted to humor to deal with terrible shit like that. Maybe it was some fucked up coping mechanism. "You could have brought the entire mountain down on us."

Mike stared at him blankly, blinking fast before slightly shaking his head and Chris thought maybe he was still too out of it to respond. Then Mike pointed at his ear. "I can't- Ringing." His speech was off. It reminded Chris of those online videos featuring people with noise-canceling headphones, talking funny because they're unable to hear themselves.

The implication sunk in a moment later. "Fuck," he repeated, and turned Mike's head to the side with a little more force than necessary, earning him a disgruntled sound in response. There wasn't any blood running out of his ears, which probably meant his eardrums had not been punctured. But being this close to the blast would have the potential of fucking up Mike's hearing for a long while.

"It's going to be okay," Chris said – pronouncing the words slowly as if that would somehow make Mike comprehend them better. "We just need to get out of here before it gets back." His eyes darted to the cave in, the vague echoes of claws scratching on the other side of the debris. Mike did not need any words to understand what he was saying.

He tried getting up on his own, but hissed and sank down to the ground a moment later. Looking over, Chris was horrified to see what he had missed before. Mike's foot was not supposed to bend that way.

They couldn't stay here or they'd be supremely fucked before the night was over. If they couldn't reunite with the others, they had to at least find a place to hold out until morning. Chris retrieved the phone from his pocket but as if they were stuck in some cliché 90s horror flick the bar showed no signal. The battery was full though, which allowed him to turn on the flashlight and see a bit better. Without his glasses, the whole world had a soft blur to it.

"House," Mike said, having considerable trouble just pronouncing it clearly. "Washington's."

The last place in the world where Chris wanted to find himself when the expedition started. But it might be the only thing able to keep them safe. He nodded and motioned for Mike to throw his arm around him. Between himself and the cane, he managed to haul them both upright. "Looks like we have one functioning leg between us, huh?"

He didn't know why he said it if Mike couldn't hear him. Maybe just to comfort himself.

God, they were so boned.

The wendigo screeched again from deeper within the mine, moving away. Chris knew it was already looking for another means to reach them, tear them apart limb from limb. So long as they could not make a fire, their lives were basically already over. If they wanted to survive they had to move.

Mike's weight leaned against him, something solid to assure him that it was not over yet. In the distance was a blotch of light standing out against the pitch black of the mine, their only road to outside. That's how far they had to make it.

That far and then through the forest for a mile or two. Then they'd be safe.

He just hoped the others were having better luck than they were.


	2. Sam & Matt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Febuwhump day 15 - "Run. Don't look back."

"Where are the others?"

Matt shook his head. His expression said more than any words could, but his trembling hands completed the picture. Sam swallowed.

She hesitated to ask but knew she had no choice. "Are they-"

"No! I just... I don't know where they are." Matt looked up at her, eyes bloodshot. Every inch of his brave facade was chipping away, breaking down to the vulnerable tissue that laid beneath. Blood stained his arms and face, the long gashes running along his throat. "I lost them again."

"Fuck-" Sam hissed. Then she grabbed Matt's hands, cold from the hours they spent outside. "It's going to be okay, Mike will keep them safe. We just have to do our part of the plan."

Matt nodded. She let go to inspect the rest of the station. The cable cart was here, they had taken it up the mountain. They had taken everything of use when arriving, aside from one bag Sam had left behind on purpose. She thought something like this might happen. She took it and lifted it up on the counter where the mechanical shit sat, pushing it to the side.

"Come here, let me patch you up."

Matt shuffled over and in silence, Sam retrieved the medkit from the bag and cleaned the claw marks the Wendigo had left along his throat. The blood had half-dried from the icy winds outside, but with some bandages, she could at least stop any further bleeding. Matt barely reacted, only winced when she pressed down on one of the wounds too hard.

"Sorry," Sam said awkwardly. He smiled at her. Emily always used to fawn over that smile – Sam remembered she called it 'perfectly boyish' once. Now it just looked tired.

"So what's next?" Matt asked when she was done.

"We have to get to the house..." Sam tried to smooth her wet hair back, retying the ponytail that kept it out of her eyes. "It's not going to be easy though."

As if to prove her point, a horrible thud resounded through the station. Sam and Matt locked eyes, staring at each other while holding their breaths. A moment later the Wendigo slammed into the door again, making it jump in its hinges. The metal held fast, but it pressed its mangled hand against the glass. Its screech was deafening even within the building's walls, making Sam clasp her hands against her ears.

"We have to get out of here," she said, reaching for the bag's straps. Matt grabbed her wrist.

"We'll never make it," he said. "Not like this."

"Matt, no-"

The bag slipped from her grasp easily, there was no strength left in her tonight. The molotov cocktail was prepared in a matter of seconds, Sam wanted to ask him where he learned that but couldn't find the words.

Matt tossed the improvised weapon from one hand to the other. "It's just like you said, we have to complete our part of the plan or we're all dead."

"Matt," she repeated, but there was no power in it, no persuasion. Sam knew he was right. She would have a much bigger chance to make it to the house on foot than he did. That didn't mean that the mere thought of leaving Matt behind with this thing didn't send her heart tumbling to the bottom of her ribcage.

She couldn't lose another friend to these monsters.

He didn't give her much chance to refuse anyway. Pressing the totem into her hand, he pushed her towards the part of the station that had the cart waiting. The open end would allow Sam to climb out and go around, getting back to the path that leads to the house. Where the Wendigo was, banging on the door.

For now, at least.

Matt grabbed onto the handle, the Molotov still clenched in his fist. "I'll head for the asylum. See if I can find the others. We'll see each other later yeah?"

Suddenly tears were forming in Sam's eyes. She blinked rapidly to keep them from showing, not wanting Matt to see. This whole night was fucked up. She couldn't break down right now. "We will."

The totem was rough in her hand, splintered wood and sharp edges. Sam dug her fingers into it, allowing the pain to ground her.

"Oh, and Sam?"

She looked up and Matt smiled again.

Perfectly boyish.

"Run. Don't look back."

She nodded, turning away from him before she could second-guess herself. The gust of wind hit her in the face at the same time the Wendigo screeched again, long limbs shuffling in the snow to pursue its fresh prey.

And Sam ran.


	3. Ashley, Emily & Jess

She closed her eyes as she stepped out on the ridge.

Icy wind whipped around her face, her hair flying wildly but Ashley barely noticed when she turned her head down to keep looking at her feet. The gaping abyss below was too dark to make out many details, at least thirty feet of nothing until the snow-covered rocks below. It made a shiver run down her spine.

_Nice and slow, Ash. Nice and slow._

"Can you hurry the fuck up?!" Emily's voice snapped her out of it. Ashely made a soft, scared noise but started moving her feet, shuffling them with meticulous care. She was so scared of slipping.

"You can make it," Jess said encouragingly, probably to offset Em's frantic yelling. Ashley focussed on the sound of her words, trying to push down her own nervous energy. If she froze in the middle of crossing – too frightened to continue – none of them would make it.

Emily yelped when the Wendigo bashed against the door again, trying to get into the room. The wood splintered inward but refused to give for the moment. They were running out of time. "Please just hurry!" Desperation was creeping into Em's tone too.

Suddenly Ashley was thinking of when they were kids, running around the playground of elementary school. Emily had been tough back then too, scary even to somebody like Ashley, who was startled by something as silly as a sudden noise. And Jess the complete opposite, a real softie who would cry when you killed a big.

But Emily would stand up for Ashley when the older kids bullied her, always told her that she would kick their ass if they ever messed with her again. Jess would hold her as she cried.

"Almost there!" Jess called, holding out her hand. Ashley barely dared to look up but forced herself to do so anyway, trying to not hold her breath for those last few inches.

Then her foot slipped.

Pitching forward, it was pure instinct that made Ashley throw out both hands, a desperate attempt to grab the ledge with both hands and stop herself from falling. Even if it was in vain, Ashley had realized something when coming up the mountain a second time.

She could not allow herself to die up there.

The angle was off and instead of grabbing the ledge with both hands, only one managed to make it. Her other arm slammed into the stone's edges, and Ashley heard her wrist snap. Pain shot through her arm, making her cry out but by some miracle, she managed to not let go.

Jess was grabbing her a moment later, putting all her feeble strength into hauling Ashley up to safety. She couldn't be ten stone but somehow managed to pull Ashley's full weight, putting all those cheerleading days to good use.

"Ashley!" Emily screamed out her name when she first fell and did so again as Jess managed to get her on solid ground. "Guys, please answer already?"

"We're good!" Jess answered. Her fingers were still pressed against Ashley's back, almost as if she couldn't let go. "Ash, you're good?"

Ashley couldn't answer – not with her whole body shaking. She nodded, burrowing her face in the thick fur on Jessica's coat.

"I'm coming over." Ashley looked back just in time to see Emily climb onto the ledge. The Wendigo banged into the door again, but had no luck getting through. It wouldn't take long though. They all let out a sigh of relief when Emily made it over.

"Now let's going before the freak bashes its way through." Emily tried getting Ashley to stand up but she winced in pain when it aggravated her wrist. Emily let go immediately.

"Fuck did you-"

"I think it's broken," Ashley said. She could flex her fingers, but not move her wrist. The pain was fading already, but so was all feeling in her hand. That was probably a bad sign.

"Okay... okay." Emily nodded at Jess. "It's fine, we'll be fine. I won't let that thing kill us tonight. Stick close to me, Ash."

The playground was a distant memory, but somehow it made Ashley feel a little better to have it.

**Author's Note:**

> [my Tumblr](http://sharada-n.tumblr.com/)


End file.
